1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector for circuit board and to a method of forming a connector for circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,566 and FIG. 7 herein disclose a connector for a circuit board. As shown in FIG. 7, this connector has a housing 1 formed of a synthetic resin and is used with a mating connector 2 that can be fit into a receptacle 3 formed in the front of the housing 1. Mounts 4 project at the left and right sides of the receptacle 3 and are formed respectively with screw holes 4A that penetrate the mounts 4 vertically along a direction normal to connecting direction. The housing 1 can be fixed to a circuit board (not shown) by screwing screws into the screw holes 4A so that the bottom surface of the housing 1 is held in close contact with the circuit board. L-shaped terminal fittings 5 are insert molded into the housing 1 and penetrate a back wall 3A of the receptacle 3 in forward and backward directions so that ends of the terminal fittings 5 are connectable with corresponding circuits on the circuit board. The connector is mounted horizontally so that the connecting direction of the housing 1 is parallel to the circuit board.
FIG. 8 shows a connector with a housing 6 that is mounted vertically so that the connecting direction of a housing 6 is normal to a circuit board P. This connector has mounts 8 that project at the opposite left and right sides of a receptacle 7. The housing 6 is fixed to the circuit board P by using screw holes 8A that are formed in the mounts 8 and extend along the connecting direction. Straight terminal fittings 9 penetrate a back wall 7A of the receptacle 7 and one end of each straight terminal fitting 9 is connected with a corresponding circuit on the circuit board P.
The present invention was developed in view of the above state of the art and an object of the invention is to provide a connector for circuit board, where the connector has improved flexibility in the use of a housing.
The invention relates to a connector for a circuit board. The connector includes a housing with a receptacle for receiving a mating connector. A first orientation-mounting screw hole is formed in the housing and extends at an angle to a connecting direction of the housing. The first orientation-mounting screw hole is adapted to cooperate with at least one screw to secure the housing to the circuit board in a first orientation. A second orientation-mounting screw hole also is formed in the housing and is adapted to cooperate with at least one screw to secure the housing to the circuit board in a second orientation different from the first orientation. At least one terminal mount hole penetrates a back wall of the receptacle and can receive at least two kinds of terminal fittings. Accordingly, the housing can be mounted on the circuit board in two orientations. This can improve flexibility in the use of the housing and can reduce costs.
The first orientation-mounting screw hole preferably is adapted to secure the housing to the circuit board so that the connecting direction is parallel to the circuit board.
The second orientation-mounting screw hole preferably is adapted to secure the housing to the circuit board in a second orientation so that the connecting direction is substantially normal to the circuit board.
The second orientation-mounting screw hole preferably extends substantially parallel to the connecting direction.
The terminal fittings preferably comprise a substantially L-shaped terminal fitting connectable with a circuit on the circuit board in the first orientation and a substantially straight terminal fitting connectable with the circuit on the circuit board in the second orientation.
A plurality of the terminal mount holes preferably are arranged along a widthwise direction of the receptacle and are aligned at an angle to the extension of the first orientation-mounting screw hole.
The first orientation-mounting screw hole preferably is at a substantially middle position between one sidewall of the receptacle and a terminal mount hole at an outermost side in the back wall of the receptacle.
A wall with a certain thickness must be provided around the screw hole to ensure its strength. However, the width of a housing must be larger if mounting portions formed with screw holes are formed outside a receptacle, as in the prior art. On the other hand, the space between the terminal mount holes must be wider if the screw hole is between a pair of the terminal mount holes in the back wall of the receptacle since a certain clearance is required between the screw hole and the terminal mount holes. As a result, the dimension of the housing becomes larger. However, in the present invention, the horizontal-mounting screw hole is near the sidewall of the receptacle. Thus, a part of the wall around the horizontal-mounting screw hole overlaps the sidewall with respect to the widthwise direction. Therefore, the housing can be made narrower by at least as much as the thickness of the sidewall.
The first orientation-mounting screw hole preferably has inner concave arcuate walls at a first side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole substantially facing mold-removal holes in the second side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole. Inner concave arcuate walls also are formed at the second side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole and face mold-removal holes in the first side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole. The arcuate surfaces are arranged alternately along a direction substantially normal to the connecting direction.
The horizontal-mounting screw hole is formed by a pair of molds that are movable along the connecting direction. Thus, there is no need to prepare separate molds that movable along directions normal to the connecting direction to form the horizontal-mounting screw hole.
The invention also relates a method of forming the above-described connector for a circuit board. The method comprises forming a first orientation-mounting screw hole in the housing to extend at an angle to a connecting direction of the housing so that the first orientation-mounting screw hole can secure the housing to the circuit board in a first orientation. The method also comprises forming a second orientation-mounting screw hole in the housing so that the second orientation-mounting screw hole can secure the housing to the circuit board in a second orientation different from the first orientation. The method also includes forming at least one terminal mount hole to penetrate a back wall of the receptacle for receiving at least two kinds of terminal fittings.
The first orientation-mounting screw hole may be formed to secure the housing with the connecting direction parallel to the circuit board.
The second orientation-mounting screw hole may be formed to secure the housing with the connecting direction substantially normal to the circuit board.
The second orientation-mounting screw hole is formed to extend substantially along a direction parallel to the connecting direction.
The method may comprise forming a plurality of the terminal mount holes along the widthwise direction of the receptacle and arranged at an angle to the first orientation-mounting screw hole.
The first orientation-mounting screw hole preferably is formed such that concave arcuate walls at a first side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole face mold-removal holes in the second side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole and concave arcuate walls at the second side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole face mold-removal holes in the first side of the first orientation-mounting screw hole. The inner arcuate walls are arranged alternately along a direction arranged at an angle to the connecting direction.
The housing is formed by two molds closeable along the connecting direction. Each mold is formed with at least one pin for forming the concave arcuate walls of the first orientation-mounting screw hole. The pins on one mold preferably are arranged alternately with the pins on the other mold.
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are described separately, single features may be combined to additional embodiments.